Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-25

menced construction in May. 1875, snt
pushed northw to Bolton, Tex, which
point it reached in February, 1881. The
road had met with some reverses, how
ever, for April Is, 1879, it had been sold
under foreclosure and .reorganized, the
new company pushing the construction
| from Richmond, Tex. As soon as the
work was completed to Bolton, the citi-
zens OF Fort Worth, with characteristic
unity and energy, commenced to offer
inducements to the road to come here,
and after brief negotiations bonus ag-
gregating S9S, 800 WAS raised, which the
company accepted, snd December s, 1881,
the line was completed to this point and
the road opened up for business.
This road was regarded with special
favor by the citizens because it was q
state road, controlled purely by state in
terests end stste capital. 1t originated
mainly through desire upon the part OF
Galveston capitalists to protect the hold
.he 'Island City" had upon the com
merce of interior Texas. The extension
to Fort Worth proved beneficial to the
road and the following season great
quantities of cotton were shipped over it
10 the port at Galveston. The advent OF
this road had happy effect on real estate
values In Fort Worth and the $4,000
bonus was one of the best investments
ever msde by the citizens Of the town.
Since the road commenced operations it
has done heavy freight and passenger
traffic.
The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Rail-
way Company passed into the hands of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Company early in the year OF 1886, and
that giant corporation commenced st once
to extend it TO g connection Of one of
their trunk lines coming south from Atch-
ison, Kan. The road is now in operation
10 and beyond the northern limits OF
Texas into the Indian Territory, and in a
short time through trains from Atchison,
Ksp., will pass through the city to Gal
weston. lis expected that this extension
will solve the question of cheap fuel for
Fort Worth, as it is said to cross several
rich coal deposits in the Territory.
THE FORT wORTH AND DENVER.
This road is Fort Worth enterprise.
1t WAS chartered under the laws of the
state Of Colorado, May 26, 1873, out work
on its construction was delayed until
near the close OF the year 1881. At this
time the Texas and Pacific had passed on
west; the Missouri Pacific with its leased
lines was running north and south
through the Guy, and the Gulf, Colorado
and Santa Fe was ready to commence
business here. The work was COM
menCed by the Texas and Colorado
Railway improvement Company, and
Morgan Jones Of this city, now president
Of the road, was ore OF the leading
spirits N the enterprise. The citizens
gave this road 9 bonus Of ST., 600 with
which to purchase right Of way to the
county line On the 1st day Of May,
1882, trains were running between this
point and Decatur, a distance of forty
miles, connection being made with the
TranscOntinentsl branch of the Texas
and Pacific ABOUT four miles north of the
city. July 1, 1882, the road reached
Bowie, sixty eight miles from Fort
Worth, and on the 24th OF the same
month Henrietta, ninety-tlve miles away,
was tributary to Fort Worth. On Sep
TENDER 81 iron rails stretched between
this point and Wichita Falls, distance
of ia miles. The road terminus re-
NAMED here until early in the year 1885,
when it was extended thirty-four miles
to Harold, in Wilbarger county, reach
ing that point May 10, 1885. 1t remained
here a few months and then it WIS pushed
forward, and is now to the town of
Quanah, in Wilbarger county, 1872 miles
from Fort Worth.
This road opened up one of the most
fertile portions of the state to immigra-
ton and thousands of settlers commenced
to locate along the line which did 9 fine
business from the time it commenced
business. The great Panhandle country
proved g rich feeder to Fort Worth;
the large cattle interests in that section
multiplied and increased in q wonderful
way, and enormous quantities of live
stock were sent over the road from the
southern and western parts Of the state.
The great drives 20 Kansas City and other
points were shortened, and the road
made money.
In the commercial history and develop
ment of the state this road is playing g
prominent part, and destined to be one of
the most important railroads in Texas
for all time to come. The Fort Worth and
Denver has never suffered from Watered
stock, consg quently it pays regular divi-
dends to its stockholders. Colonel G. L.
Frost, the general superintendent of the
road, is one of the most populsr railroad
men in Texas, and so far the road has not
suffered from labor troubles and strikes,
and heavy damage suits, so prevalent IN
Texas, are almost entirely unknown 10
the road. This fact is proof OF its good
and popularity in the cOun.
ties it runs through. The charter of this
road calls for line from Fort Worth to
the Canadian river in the northwestern
part of Texas, g distance of 385 miles, the
objective point being to a connection
with the Denver and New Orleans Road,
which will push southwark from Denver
City.
THE FORT WORTH AND NEW ORLEANS.
The Fort Worth and New Orleans Rail-
way connects this city with Waxahachie,
in Ellis county, and can be truly de-
sCribed as home institution. Our
people, prior to its construction, were
obliged to sit helplessly and gaze on
territory of very considerable extent,
thickly settled and highly productive,
access 10 which for business purposes of |
any kind was practically denied them by
reason Of the railroad situation. No con-
.inuous line Of railway reached it from
here. The trade of score of fertile and |
GeII-populated counties were ready to |
knock at our gates if we would but open |
them by connection with the Houston and |
Texas Central and the Texas and St. |
Louis roads, not to speak of the possibil-
tiles beyond in the way of tapping the
finest long-leaf pine country ia the state,
making Galveston and New Orleans con-
nections the shortest we could have. By /
this railway and its connections Fort
Worth is brought fifteen or twenty miles |
nearer to Galveston, considerable saving
10 our people II time and money. By it